When this course was first used for THE PLAYERS Championship in 1982, the competitors might have wanted to do what Pete Dye used as his title 12 years later for his autobiography: "Bury Me in a Pot Bunker," that is.





Ben Crenshaw weighed in with this comment: "This is Star Wars golf, designed by Darth Vader." Jack Nicklaus said he was never very good "at stopping a 5-iron on the hood of a car." Did Dye care? Not at all; he thrives on controversy, and loved every minute that the pros went after him verbally.

But eventually the PGA TOUR succumbed to the golfers' wishes and softened the course. The greens were made more inviting to approach shots, which was the biggest change. And nowadays the course yields high scores or low scores depending on how much wind blows and how firm the course gets.

The course has become quite a challenge. Even when the greens are receptive playing the course still has that Star Wars feeling. And the 17th with its island green is, of course, the most Dyeabolical hole.

The par-3 132-yarder is Dye at his most extreme, but the hole has been widely imitated. It would be better if courses imitated Dye's short par-fours, such as the fourth and 12th that can drive players crazy. And how about the par-5 16th, which is reachable in two shots but where the water on the right side can really agitate a player who wants to attack the hole when it's cut in the right rear of the green.